I am not the type of person that likes to just write off a season until a team is completely out of the race but for arguments sake let us agree that the Mariners are out of the pennant race for 2011. With that in mind it is time to look towards next year and the future of the Mariners to see what we can hope for as fans.
The Mariners are fortunate to have talented individuals in their system at a variety of positions. Let please remember that having talented individuals does not mean the system is overall talented. I don’t believe that the M’s have a system full of talent but instead only have individuals that display potential and talent.
The first three players all M’s fans should look to as the future of the team is Dustin Ackley, Justin Smoak, and Michael Pineda.
Ackley has quickly established himself has a solid hitting second baseman. He isn’t a power guy but he isn’t a Joey Cora, hit one home run a year guy either. He is somewhere in between, which is perfectly okay with me given the fact that he can bat .300 and earn some walks. Ackley is a solid second baseman and will be a good piece of the Mariners future.
Smoak has shown moments of brilliance this season, but he has also been in a bit of a slump this past month. Truthfully this doesn’t surprise me nor does it worry me. This really is his first full season at the big league level, he is on a team that heavily depends on his production (tough for a young player to take on), and he did have to deal with the loss of his father. I know that when he initially came back from his father’s death he was just on fire but I account that more to him just going out there and cutting loose with out thinking about the game then anything else. I do think that was a glimpse of what he is capable of doing but he needs support and experience to really do that over a full season.
Pineda has been down right amazing. I saw him at FanFest this winter and he is much bigger then he looks on TV. The fact that he made the All-star team his rookie year, and is the most likely candidate for Rookie Of The Year so far are just a testament to what he has demonstrated this season.
After these three guys the future of the M’s gets kind of murky.
Blake Beavan, Dan Cortes, James Paxton, Taijuan Walker, and Danny Hultzen (if he signs) all show potential of being solid pitchers at the major league level. Just like anything else anything can happen. Guys can get hurt, lose all control (see Rick Ankiel), or simply just not develop like everyone thought.
At shortstop the M’s have Brendan Ryan who will be a solid player for few years but after him there are three shortstops in the system getting attention. Carlos Truinfel has been talked about a lot in his short career but injuries have slowed his progress and he may be used as trade bait for the M’s. Marcus Littlewood hasn’t shown me that he is a future major league player yet. I will give him some benefit of the doubt because he was drafted straight out of high school last year and still has a lot of maturing and strengthening that can occur over the next couple of years. Nick Franklin is the most promising of the three but like Littlewood he is still young and needs to mature and get a little stronger before he takes the SS of the future title completely.
Both catcher and third base are up for grabs.
The M’s have Alex Liddi and Matt Mangini in the minors at third base but neither has wowed people enough to warrant being the third baseman of the future. At catcher Adam Moore is the only potential catcher of the future but his injuries and lack of production so far isn’t looking to good.
The outfield is harder because this really is a thin area if you really look at it. Franklin Gutierrez should continue to regain strength and will be a solid center fielder for a few more years. Ichiro is on his last legs in right field and the only player in the system that looks to be able to at least temporarily fill that spot is Greg Halman. Halman is a solid defensive player and has power at the plate but until he learns to strike out a bit less I can’t see him as a long term replacement. For left field the M’s do have Guillermo Pimentel but he isn’t expected to make the team for another three years.
In all the Mariners will need to go out and look for help either by trades or by free agency. I hope the team leans towards trades given the above average track record on trades and the below average track record on free agents.
Here are my potential lineups for next year and beyond.
2012 Potential Lineups
C- Miguel Olivio / Adam Moore (this will be his last chance to prove himself in Seattle)
1b- Justin Smoak
2b- Dustin Ackley
3b- Kyle Seager /Alex Liddi / a player not on the roster yet.
SS- Brendan Ryan
LF – Greg Halman
CF- Franklin Gutierrez
RF- Ichiro
SP- Felix Hernandez, Michael Pineda, Blake Beavan, Jason Vargas, Doug Fister
Closer – Brandon League / David Aardsma
2014 Potential Lineup
C- Player not with the team currently
1b- Justin Smoak
2b- Dustin Ackley
3b- Player not with the team currently
SS- Nick Franklin
LF- Guillermo Pimentel
CF- Franklin Gutierrez
RF – Greg Halman or Player not with the team currently
DH- Player not with the team currently
SP- Michael Pineda, Danny Hultzen, Blake Beavan, Taijaun Walker, James Paxton
CP- Dan Cortes